


The ones left behind

by midnightwritter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, F/M, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-28 18:26:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightwritter/pseuds/midnightwritter
Summary: After the departure of Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura has a new motivation. But despite her hard work and improvement, she can't help but feel useless and left behind. But maybe it wasn't just her. Maybe a certain silver haired man felt just as lonely.





	1. a heart full of pains

**Author's Note:**

> In this work, Sakura is 21 and Kakashi is 32. I know that the time does not settle with the original stories but please put up with me.

They were the ones left behind. When Sasuke chose to abandon his village to seek power and revenge, he surely didn’t think the consequences of those who were left behind. Those who considered him part of their family. When Naruto decided to leave the village as well, this time to train with his father’s mentor in order to become strong enough to be a good leader to their village and to bring his old comrade back, he was dealing in his own way with the leave of a part of their own.

When Sakura was left behind, first and more cruelly by her former first love, she felt broken. When her knucklehead best friend left as well with promises of bringing their team together once again, Sakura felt totally numb. Blaming herself for being “always the weak one” and therefore incapable of making both her teammates stay or at least go in search of them, the young woman gave herself away for her only purpose of becoming stronger, less weak and vulnerable – she convinced herself that this was the only way she would be worth of having her team complete again.

Kakashi already had a background with losing teammates. This time, though, things were different. While his former team was dead and had no choice to return or not, his most recent team chose to leave. Well, half of the team did at least. But the one left behind wasn’t seem much nowadays. Not that Kakashi made an effort in seeking her out anyway but he heard rumors that she was dedicating herself under the tutelage of the fifth hokage so there was no use in showing up.

Sakura worked herself to exhaustion every single day alternating between her hospital duties, training with Tsunade and exercising on her own. The pink haired woman had no more time for going out or partying or silly things, as she would put it. Ino gave up on her after the second month of being rejected or avoided. Sakura had established a routine which she followed religiously and this routine left no time for going out with friends or “having a laugh” as Ino would put it. In fact, the rosette didn’t laugh as she used to. Before, every kind and thoughtful gesture towards the girl was met with a beaming smile but now polite words were uttered with so much a change in her serious expression. For the outsiders, Sakura had become someone who took her responsibilities like they should, trying her best to become better in order to protect and serve their village. But in the darkness of the pinkette’s room, the tale was different. Despite her improvement Sakura felt useless, even more than before. She cried herself to sleep every single night, wondering the ‘what ifs’. The boys had gone away almost three years before and it still felt like yesterday. She wouldn’t hear a single fact about them besides Naruto’s monthly letters to the hokage in which he never mentioned the girl left behind.

Sakura thought about searching for her ex sensei many times but decided against it. The man had better thing to do after all and the last thing she needed was another rejection if he were to discover about the feeling she had carefully harbored and hidden. So in these three long years, she only caught glimpses of his figure but the feelings inside her grew. Unfortunately, this only seemed to worsen her mood since now she had to deal with the leave of two of her teammates, her own weakness and her new unrequired love.

Today was Saturday, meaning she didn’t have to attend to the hospital until Monday morning. The 21-year-old woman woke up, went through her morning routine and sat on the kitchen table of her apartment, contemplating what to do next. Even the idea of going out caused a strange feeling in the girl’s chest. She didn’t like leaving her house to go in public more than necessary.

_Maybe Ino was right and I’m becoming a hermit after all._

Sakura never thought that she would dread leaving the comfort of her home so much but this was a practical way she found to deal with people’s comments. Every time the girl was out on the street she heard whispers about how she was the one not strong enough to follow her teammates and ended up left behind. She didn’t even know if the whispers were real or if she was making them up in her own mind.

_It doesn’t matter anyway. The less they know about me, the more I can focus on becoming stronger._

With this thoughts, the pinkette decided to go to the training grounds and train for the day. Going through the window, she leapt out and went to the rooftops running with chakra. She reached the place and began stretching to warm up her muscles. Sakura was in the middle of her fifth lap around the training ground when she felt someone’s chakra signature approaching. Not in the mood to encounter someone from the village he jumped on the nearest tree and started running on the branches to get away from the upcoming person.

Sakura was in the motion of jumping to the ground and continuing her way on the floor when she was suddenly tackled on the ground with a weight on top of her.

“Running from your old sensei is not nice now, is it?” She heard a baritone voice next to her ear.

She couldn’t help the shiver that went up her spine after feeling his warm breath so close to her skin. Making an effort to make her voice appear strong, she managed to utter a reply.

“Tackling your old student to the floor of a forest doesn’t seem like exemplary behavior to me.”

She heard him chuckle and felt his weight leave her. Turning around, she came face to face with Kakashi. He looked the same as every time she managed to see him on the streets – wearing the same jounin uniform, mask and crooked headband. Soon he moved, extending a hand to help her get up. Sakura took it.

“So, what brings you here at this time?”

Sakura looked sideways at his face before giving her short answer. “Going home.”

With that, she turned on her heels and resumed walking back to the village. It wasn’t long before she felt his presence again but this time by her side. She looked up only to find him with his face hidden by his ever present orange book. The girl huffed in frustration. “What do you want Sensei?”

Surprisingly he put his book away before looking at her. “Call me just Kakashi. I haven’t been your sensei for years, if ever.”

She was caught off guard by that but hid it well. “Ok, but you didn’t answer my question.”

She saw his eyes crinckling at the corners. “Maa, do I need a reason to spend some time with my favorite student?”

Now, that made sakura stop in her tracks. “ I was never your favorite Kakashi. And it’s been three years since I last talked to you. What made you change your mind? What would you want from me now?” The words came out bitter even to her own eyes.

He looked at her face and blinked slowly but there was no other apparent reaction to her words. Giving up on getting an answer and annoyed that he could treat a serious topic with a blasé attitude, sakura turned her back on him and resumed walking.

“I want to talk to you. It’s been a while and I regret not searching you out before but… it was difficult.” Hearing his voice strain a little towards the end, she turned around and saw for a brief second a flash of an emotion in his eyes before they became expressionless again. An emotion she knew well – despair. She waited for him to catch up to her and they made their way back to the training grounds.

The morning and evening was spent sitting under a tree, watching the clouds go by and speaking when they felt like it. As they spent time together, sakura started to realize that she wasn’t the only one left behind. Kakashi was also a part of the team that suffered with the leave and temporary loss of their other teammates. But that wasn’t the only conclusion she reached. Every time he would speak and reveal a piece of information about him or share his thoughts she felt her heart clenching. Clenching because she could relate to his pain but also because she realized yet again what a great man her former teacher was and the notion that he could never be interested in her hurt.

Besided all of the emotions bubbling inside her, Sakura made an effort to stay as calm as possible – at least on the exterior. She spoke in a neutral voice and made her face remain expressionless. Just like him. Suddenly, realization hit her again. The cool exterior Kakashi put on show wasn’t because he didn’t care or because he was being aloof. It was a defense mechanism, one that she had just copied.

_I feel like we are exchanging places with me copying him._

So, against her best judgement, Sakura let herself go and enjoyed the moment. She laughed of his lame jokes and smiled like she hadn’t in ages. She felt tons lighter and forgot about her problems and failures for a moment. In that place, it was just them. Just Sakura and Kakashi, without the shadow of their mistakes or duties cornering them. It was just a moment between two people who worried and suffered in silence and finally found, together, a way to numb the pain.

In her happiness, Sakura faced the older man and gave him a beaming smile that could put one of Gai’s famous blinding grins to shame. “We should do this more often. I miss this. I missed you.”

Just after those words left her lips, thee young woman felt her eyes widening and a blush making its way to her cheeks. Kakashi seemed to be in a similar state, except the blush – he wore a mask after all.

The strange thing wasn’t the proposition in itself but the way those words were uttered – as if they shared a long familiarity, as if they were more than simply former student and teacher, as if they were more than Kakashi and Sakura to each other.

Ducking her head and facing the ground, Sakura quickly got up avoiding his gaze at all costs. Before Kakashi could give a reply or say something at all, the girl was gathering her things in her small pouch and turning her back on him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was thinking. I’m sure you have better things to do than hang out with such a failure like me.”

Without looking back, she ran away to avoid him from seeing her tears.


	2. take this weight off my chest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. This story was meant to be posted was an one shot but I got sidetracked and now it'll have three chapters (if I don't come up with another ideas to avoid the end even more haha).  
> Please enjoy and leave comments letting me know what you guys thing of it this far and how it could be improved.  
> :)

Two weeks had passed since that day. Sakura made sure that he couldn’t find her by changing her work hours with one of her colleagues every few days. There was a part of her that hoped he would come searching for her and tell her that it was a mistake and that she wasn’t as useless as she felt – even if she wouldn’t believe any of it, she still wanted someone to placate the turmoil inside her.

Unfortunately, Kakashi didn’t come after her. In fact, she couldn’t even catch the usual glimpses of his figure in the streets anymore.

_Guess he realized that he was wasting his time with me.  
_But despite her rational side coming up with a conclusion, she found herself at the Hokage’s office subtly trying to find information about him. After a few tries and lots of sake she found out he had requested for a long mission. A three month mission to be exact. Sakura didn’t know whether to be relieved because he was only doing his job or guilty and ashamed since she had a feeling that his sudden departure had something to do with their previous encounter and the words spoken between the two of them.

Excusing herself from her shisou office, she went home in a numb state. After a few minutes, sakura found herself sitting in her old couch, in her lonely and dark home.

_It seems I finally managed to drive everyone away. What a great person I am._

From that day on, the young woman became even more recluse. She even dreaded leaving her apartment to go to work. Sakura didn’t feel like pursuing her goal anymore since she couldn’t see any improvements until then and the final proof of her failure came with Kakashi leaving the village in a hurry right after talking to her after a long time without touch.

In a rainy Friday night, she reached home after her last shift at the hospital and while taking off her soaked clothes, Sakura decided she wanted to leave the village at least for a while. _All of my team is out there, why can’t I go too_ ?

Quickly collecting her mission stuff, the pinkette hurried to Tsunade’s office and requested a mission. After arguing and making arrengements because of her hospital duties, Sakura managed to get a leave and a two month mission in which her main goal was to discover and capture an underground dealer who was known due to his kidnapping habit. The mission in itself wasn’t difficult but their client paid enough for it to be considered an S-Class.

So, at first light in the next morning, Sakura was leaving for her first solo mission in a while. After reaching Iwa, everything felt normal and went according to the plan. She managed to introduce herself as a spokesperson of a rich madam interested in their business and slowly gained the group’s trust.

But after her second week of infiltration, while sitting at a bar to gather information, Sakura felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she came face to face with a  dark haired man who was wearing an eye patch. The familiarities were too many and after seeing his famous eye crinckle, Sakura was sure the man in front of her was her former sensei.

Before she got the chance to say something, he approached her and whispered in her ear with a voice too low for her sanity.

“Meet me in ten at the inn in front of the bar.”

And with those words, he quickly straightened up and left the bar. Sakura was left there staring at the place he had previously been and debating if she should follow his request because she was in a mission after all and he seemed to be in one as well. But the possibilities of what he could say to her had already made up her mind so against her best judgement, Sakura paid for the drinks she had consumed and left the place, going straight for the inn.

Once inside, she asked to recepcionist if there was a lobby and the woman behind the desk appointed her the right way. After a few minutes, Sakura was standing in the middle of an empty dark room. But she didn’t wait for long since fingers were soon making their way around her wrist and guiding her to the back door, towards the stair.

“Let’s talk in somewhere more appropriate.”

Kakashi led her to the stairs and started climbing with her in tow. They stopped on the fifth floor and he guided her to the apartment 21. Reaching for a key in his front pocket, Kakashi made quick work of the lock and opened the door, switching on the light at the same time and effectively brightening the room.

Without knowing what to do with herself, the pink haired woman stayed in the same place until he motioned that she should sit on the couch. Complying his orders, Sakura finally allowed herself to really look at his face since he wasn’t wearing a mask. He was really handsome and she couldn’t find a reason to the mask but she didn’t have much time to dwell on her thoughts since he began speaking.

“I take it you are on a mission as well ?”

Still not fully recovered from the shock, she only nodded.

Kakashi sighed. “This wasn’t the way I planned on meeting you again.”

She frowned. What was that supposed to mean ? Okay that he didn’t want her here but it wasn’t as if she came looking for him. She was on a mission of her own and he had no right to tell her such thing. Fuelled by her anger she spoke her first words of the night.

“Well, it wasn’t as if I came here to search for you. I came here because I have a mission that I intend in completing. You of all people may not believe in me and I’m sure that I’m not as strong as _other_ students you may have but I’ll not leave a mission unaccomplished. But don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with me ever again since it causes so much dread to you. Not on this mission nor when we go back to the village. I’m sorry for being such a disappointment for you Kakashi. Good luck on your mission.”

After finishing her speech, she quickly got up and left the room, not wanting to hear anything he had to say anymore. She left the inn and hurried to the hotel she was staying.

In the next days, Sakura made sure the last thing on her mind was Kakashi and indulged on the mission. She was almost completing it and soon she could go home where she would be able to lock herself at home and avoid every person until she was requested at the hospital or the hokage tower. In two more days, she managed to defeat the whole group and capture the leader, sending for an ANBU team to bring him to Konoha.

Sakura collected all of her items at the hotel, paid for her stay and left the village. She decided to make a slow trip back home since she had finished the mission early and wasn’t in a hurry. So, she took the longer way, following the water stream.

When night came, she stopped to make camp. After gathering wood for a fire and catching some fish, the young woman was sitting comfortably in a log waiting for her dinner to be ready. But a few noises disturbed her peace, making Sakura stay on alert mode. The sounds were the ones of a fight but they didn’t seem to be too close to her to be an immediate threat.

She collected her thing again and threw some dirt on the fire to put it out and erase any sign that she was here. Following her way, she made an U-turn to avoid getting caught in the middle on the conflict ahead. But a distinct sound caught her attention and made her pause. The sound of birds chirping. _Chidori. Kakashi._

The pink haired changed directions and went towards the sounds. She reached an open space in the woods and saw many dead bodies on the floor while Kakashi stood in the middle of the circle with his hand alight with his jutsu. There were a few other enemies still fighting but they didn’t appear to be a threat to the famous copy-nin. But still Sakura stood her place, ready to jump into the fight if necessary.

The number of enemies was rapidly decreasing while the pile of dead bodies was gaining volume. Out of nowhere though, an enemy ninja jumped on Kakashi’s back, stabbing him with a sword. Sakura’s eyes widened and her hand quickly grabbed a few kunai and threw at the ninja making him fall dead on the ground. Racing to Kakashi, she put away any other ninja that cut her path, soon ending the number of enemies.

After reaching his side, she crouched to look at his wound. She gasped as she saw the sword making it through him, entering his back and going out through his chest. She calmed him down a little and gathering healing chakra in her hands, she began to retrieve the weapon as well as start mending his flash and any internal damage. Looking at his face, she saw that his eyes were closed.

“Kakashi! Open your eyes! You can’t die on me!”

He heard her pleas since his eyes slowly opened, staring straight into her own. Sakura continued pouring chakra into his flesh and the gash was slowly closing. But his expression didn’t seem to get better. Making a quick scan she realized her mistake. The sword was poisoned and she had closed the wound without removing the poison of his system.

Realizing what was happening and her despair, Kakashi reached for her hands, moving them away from his chest and close to his face. He forced a weak smile to appear on his face before uttering.

“You were never a disappointment Sakura. I should be the one apologizing for not treating you the way you should have been treated. The only regret I have is not being part of the construction of the amazing and fierce kunoichi you became.”

His words came followed by a coughing fit and he spat blood on the floor. The poison was spreading fast through his system and causing his organs to fail. Sakura didn’t know what to do with the guilt and shame building up inside her and stood with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Kakashi! Please don’t die, stay with me! I can’t lose you too. Specially you. I don’t think I can move on after this if you’re not by my side.”

Searching for his hands, she grasped them in a strong grip before saying the words she had guarded deep inside her for a long time. “I love you Kakashi. I love you so much.”

His eyes widened a bit before going back to normal. “I love you too Sakura. I have for a while now. I didn’t say anything before because I assumed you’d never feel the same for an old man like me.”

She didn’t have much time to assimilate his words before she felt a pair of soft warm lips crashing on her own. She responded, kissing him with as much passion as she could muster. They stayed like that for a while before the kiss was interrupted by a coughing fit. This one was more violent than the other and after it subdued, he started having problems breathing. His eyes slowly began to close and the screams of the woman besides him fell on deaf ears.

Sakura was desperate. His pulse and breathing were slowing down by the second. She couldn’t let him die. How would she continue her life after this ?

_No, I can’t it happen. For once I’ll be able to do something even if it kills me on the process. But either way, if I fail I’ll feel just as miserable._

“Hang on, Kakashi. You’ll be just fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

Coming to a conclusion, she decided to use one jutsu her master had warned her only to use in desesperate cases and as a last measure since it worked by transferring the chakra from the user to the person that needs healing. Despite knowing all of the consequences of using such measure, Sakura didn’t have to think twice. He was too important to die and she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he passed away now, just after they confessed to each other.

Using one hand to clean a bit of the tears coming non stop from her eyes, she gave his face one last caress before speeding through a sequence of seals to perform the right jutsu. Soon, a glowing bright green light started to emanate from her hands and slowly spread through her whole body. She put her hands on his skin, letting her life force be transferred to him.

As Sakura saw her own chakra being pouring on Kakashi, started feeling weaker and her vision started to blur on the edges. Forcing herself to continue, she managed to get her hands steady enough to continue the healing process. This went on for a while and before she knew it, her eyes were closing without her permission and her body was falling on top of him. Her last vision was his peaceful face and her last thought was that his face was a great last sight to be seem before someone’s death. With a weak smile on her face, she passed out.

The two stayed on that position for a little longer than 6 hours and by this time Kakashi began to stir from his slumber. Without opening his eyes just yet, the copy nin felt a weight on top of him and a face pressed to his neck. Before he started panicking and putting on a fighting stance, his nose captured a familiar smell. Cinnamon and sakura leaves. She smelled like home. The previous events crowded his mind all at once and he opened his eyes in alarm.

Looking down and moving her a little so he could look at her face, he noticed that her breathing was too light and she was a light pale. Pushing her so he was holding her on his lap, he checked her pulse and almost let put a gasp at noticing it was barely there.

His quick analytical mind was put into motion and he soon was speeding towards the closest village to search medical care. His worries only increased by the second and he tried to come up with what could possibly have happened to leave her in such state. Until then, his mind had only come up with one conclusion but he refused to believe that she would just give her life away for him like that. The trade wasn’t worth it.

Reaching the nearest hospital, Kakashi took her to the emergency wing and demanded immediate treatment. No one dared to disobey one request from the copy nin. Sakura had her vitals checked and after a few quick exams, the doctors stated that she had chakra exhaustion and that if he had taken a moment longer to look for help she wouldn’t have made it. After asking a few question and being reassured that she was going to be fine in a while, Kakashi finally let his guard down a little. He sat down on the chair by her hospital bed and watched as the nurse checked on her medicine before leaving.

The two of them were left alone in the room. Kakashi reached for her hand and grasped it between both of his. He took his mask and headband off and set them of the bedside table. Looking at her sleeping face he couldn’t believe that such a beautiful creature had almost given her life away for someone as jagged as him. He was sure he didn’t deserve it. Kakashi had always stumbled through like as a loner and someone who shouldn’t be approached unless one was looking for a good trade or a rebellious fight. He wasn’t one to have many friends or being the life of the party. The only ones to put up with him were Genma, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma before his death.

The silver haired man didn’t have much things he was proud in life but there was much more events he regretted it the list started early in his life, right when he was only a nine year-old and his father took his own life. From that point, Kakashi saw his life as a sequence of mistakes protagonized by him and his faults and bad decisions. Even after taking on the duty of being a teacher for Team Seven and thinking that things were finally getting good, he made another mistake by focusing his attention on the wrong student, having inefficient teaching methods and forgetting the most important ones behind. In fact, he was so sure and aware of his total fault that when his students left him for better teachers he wasn’t surprised at all.

So, when he started focusing too much in one pink haired young woman for reason beyond teaching, he decided to step away and ignore those feelings for the safety of both off them. Sakura was too good to waste her life with someone like him. Her green eyes had a special spark to them, while his were dulled with seeing too much death – a large part caused by his very own hands. She didn’t him to be a weight pulling her down, causing her to lose her youth and innocence for selfish reasons. He had been sure he loved her for a few months now but didn’t have it in him to say anything. He wasn’t very keen on the idea of being shot down and his mind was the first one to tell him that that was the sequence of events if he dared making a bold move like this one. But there was a little spark of hope that wondered if he had a chance. If the sparkle he caught on her eyes as she glanced in his direction on the streets when she thought he wasn’t paying attention was because of him. As ridiculous as it would seem for a man like him, Kakashi still hoped. But it was only that – hope. He wasn’t planning on putting his feeling out there anytime soon, if ever. Too many bad things would come of this and the first one would be the rejection of the village since they were former teacher and student after all. It was very likely that they would get expelled from their own home and Kakashi couldn’t do this to her.

But when he looked at her face, her silly pink hair, her green bright eyes and cheery and strong personality, he couldn’t help falling more in love each time. It was like an ache deep in his chest that only calmed when being near her, being on receiving end of one of her perfect bright smiles or intimidating threats. He loved everything about this woman and it pained him knowing that being together like he craved wasn’t written on their futures.

With a head full of thoughts and still tired of hurrying to the hospital with her on his back, Kakashi fell asleep on the chair with his head resting on their joined hands and his face towards her.


	3. that bittersweet feeling when giving up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got a bit sidetracked and ended up adding a new chapter on this story! pls don't kill me, I got kind of emotional when thinking about the end of this story *wipes tears away* but I'll try to wrap the plot up by next chapter - the FINAL ONE.  
> I plan on writting the steaming parts on the last one, if you guys know what I mean.  
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you guys think about it.

As Kakashi come out of his sleep, he noticed that the sunshine seemed to be getting through the open window and reflecting on his face, making him squeeze his eyes in hopes of getting the offending sun off his face. When he tried to move his hand to block the excessive amount of sunlight, Kakashi soon found himself trapped and unable to retrieve his hand. After that, still without moving, he tried to pay attention to his sorroundings not really knowing where he was.

The first thing he noticed was the warm and soft thing squeezing his palm. His brows furrowed without his consent but he was quickly assaulted by another information. This time a smell too familiar to be ignored. Cinnamon and sakura petals. _Sakura._ Memories of the night before crowded his mind all at once and he opened his eyes.

The first sight he saw was enough to take his breath away. Sakura was lying there with her eyes closed and mouth slightly open. Her soft pink hair fell in small waves around her head creating the illusion of a crown. She was absolutely beautiful. The silver haired ninja found himself unable to move a muscle and was left with his mouth hanging after facing such a vision.

Sakura woke up slowly but something made her want to open her eyes quickly. It was the sensation of being watched and being a ninja she couldn’t ignore such signals. The pinkette slowly opened her eyelids due to the heavy light coming into the room and was faced with a previous sensei staring with a strange expression at her face.

“Good morning, Kakashi.” Sakura said in a small soft voice and surprised when received no answer. Feeling self conscious she lifted a hand to her face in case there was something stuck there that she didn’t know of. The motion seemed to brake whatever trance Kakashi was under and he blinked a few times before his gaze matched her own again – this time his eyes were more focused and alert instead of the glazed look he carried only moments before.

“Yo.” He said while raising two fingers up and giving his trade mark eye crease. Kakashi was surprised and couldn’t help the warm sensation that spread through his being when he noticed the blush slowly tainting Sakura’s cheeks. She seemed to notice where he was staring and quickly averted her gaze towards the sheets.

Sakura wasn’t used to all this attention and specially from a male. It didn’t matter that Kakashi and her had already kissed and confessed her feelings towards each other. With that thought in mind, she soldiered up and lifted her eyes to his face again, searching for his eyes. To her delight and slightly surprise she found a warm and loving gaze there and it was directed at her. She felt elated but there were some pressing matters she needed to attend before she indulged in her personal small pleasures.

“Are you okay?” He kept looking at her and the once kind and loving gaze was slowly mutating into one look of disbelief.

“You’re asking if _I’m_ okay?! What kind of question is that? I wasn’t the one who was willing to give up their life in a silly attempt to save mine.” As his speech was progressing his tone was also increasing and by the time he finished Kakashi was on the verge of yelling at her. He couldn’t believe that out of all the things she should worry about, Sakura was putting _him_ in front of her own needs.

She glanced shyly at his face, a little intimidated by his outburst. “Look, I know that you didn’t expect anything good from me but I’m not going to apologize this time. I don’t regret what I did not even a bit and will do everything again if it’s needed.” The timid expression turned into one of bravery and Kakashi noticed not for the first time how fierce and strong minded his former student really was.

Sighing, he ran a hand across his face before directing his eyes towards the young pink haired woman again. “And I guess there’s no way of changing your mind about that?”

With a small smile gracing her face, she gave her reply. “Nope. I had a good teacher once that managed to get into our thick skulls the value of teamwork and how you should not leave your friends and comrades behind. I’d like to think that I learned at least this lesson well.”

He didn’t know what to think or say. There was an immensity of feeling fighting for dominance inside him at that moment. Pride. Happiness. Peace. Hope. But there was one sensation that was exclusively caused by Sakura and Sakura alone. _Love._ Yes, he loved her too much for their own good. He also knew that a possible relationship between the two ninja would cause a mess and have consequences in both of their lives. But Kakashi also knew that he was tired of denying things he wanted. So, with that particular thought in mind, he quickly came to a conclusion and pulled his mask bellow his chin.

Before the copy nin had a chance to do anything, he heard a gasp. But the sound was short lived since the girl who uttered it was silenced by a pair of soft lips crashing firmly on her own.

The explosion of sensations was enough to take both their breaths away but the pair refused to let go of each other. Soon his tongue was licking at her lower lip begging for entrance. Sakura happily complied and the kiss grew even more delicious and full of emotion. Two pairs of hands were reaching for the other one, grabbing at anything that was close – be it shirts, necks or even hair. They were so close yet not close enough.

But before things escalated Kakashi pulled away from her with one left chaste kiss. She opened her mouth to complain but a finger was quickly touching her lips. “Not here. Let’s get you home and safe first. And after all, I want time and comfort to be with you. I want to be able to drink in the sounds you will make and taste every inch of your skin until dawn. I want to leave your throat sore from screaming my name all night long. Not some quickie in a hospital room where anyone could hear and interrupt us.”

His words were enough to shut her up and the look full of lust and love he had while talking made a heat rise and spread in her lower stomach. She quietly nodded without ever leaving his eyes.

Kakashi removed the finger from her mouth and giving her a quick eye crease, he got up to look for Tsunade so she could check on the pinkette and send her home – where she unfortunately wouldn’t be resting anytime soon if he could make something about it. But this part she didn’t need to know. Only that he loved Sakura and would do anything to make her happy.


	4. the end can be a new beggining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! The final chapter of this fic. It was my first complete fic and also the first time I wrote smut so I know it's not that great. Enjoy it! And if you had any ideas about kakasaku stories, let me know! :)

After finding the blonde hokage and receiving a lecture about how he should not break Sakura’s heart, Kakashi found himself following the doctor towards the pinkette’s room. Tsunade barged in not bothering to knock on the door beforehand but it was normal behavior. Sakura looked to the new people entering her once silent room and was caught off guard by the sight. Tsunade had an expression of not many friends and her left eye was ticking. Kakashi, on the other hand, was too silent and that was something to say about the normally aloof ninja. Not in the mood to be left out of the situation, Sakura broke the silence.

“What happened? Is something wrong with Kakashi’s recovery, Shisou?”

The blonde snorted and rolled her eyes before looking her apprentice in the eyes. “Of course you’d fall for him. I can understand it now. You two will be the death of me with all that selflessness.” She punctuated her sentence with a light jab of her finger in Sakura’s ribs.

Sakura took a moment to understand what was happening but soon everything was very clear. Kakashi had told her about them. But her brain couldn’t come up with a reason for doing that so fast.

_Maybe he was trying to get rid of you already and resorted to the hokage hoping that she would forbid you two from seeing each other. This way he doesn’t even have to look at your pitiful face and deal with the guilty._

Sakura was shaken by that little voice inside her head – the one that always was there to put herself down and show her with extremely precise facts how useless and weak she was. But this time, the young woman wasn’t buying it so easily. After all, Kakashi had said that he loved her. Why would he lie? She couldn’t see any reason for him to do as much and he seemed very sincere when speaking about the matter not very long ago.

_He just didn’t know how to let you down without making you cry. He was merely sparing himself the damage and the blame._

Before Sakura had time to decide whether to believe in that sentence or not, she was taken out of her reveries by a hand waving in front of her face. Looking to the owner of the appendage, she found out it was Kakashi. He quickly gave her his famous eye crinkle.

“Look who’s finally back with us. Maybe you can answer the hokage’s questions now? She said that after that we can leave.”

Swallowing her embarrassment for being caught off guard by two of her former sensei, she mutely nodded. Tsunade eyed her briefly before starting the questionary. It took only fifteen minutes before the blond was declaring Sakura able to resume her normal activities with only the promise of coming back if she felt anything abnormal. Before leaving the room for her to change, Tsunade forced Kakashi out of the door and closed it behind him, quickly turning to face the pinkette.

“Are you sure you’re ok, Sakura?” The fifth had a look of concern on her face.

“Yes Shisou. I’ll be just fine.”

“And what about Kakashi?”

“What about him?” Sakura tried to avoid the question but she knew it was a pointless effort as soon as she saw the look on her mentor’s face.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about here, child. Are you sure about him? He is a bit older than you, don’t you think? And Kakashi isn’t exactly an easy person to deal with.”

“I’m very sure Shisou. I know that he’s not perfect and had his share of faults and mistakes but he’s only human like you and me after all. I had a long time to know the real him and every quirk habit he may have so don’t worry about me falling in love with an illusion I made up in my mind like last time with Sasuke. I really love him and the age difference doesn’t bother me at all. I know some of the villagers won’t see this with kind eyes but I don’t care about their opinion. I want to be happy and I can only do that with him by my side. I’d like your blessing since you’re like a mother figure for me since the passing of my blood parents but if this relationship doesn’t make you happy, I will still fight for it – even if we have to run away and become missing nins. Even if it kills me. This time I’m not letting go.”

Without her permission, tears had made their way down the young woman’s face and looking at the blonde she noticed that her caramel eyes matched the teary look on her own.

“I’m very proud of you Sakura. You have come to be an amazing kunoichi – both in power and wisdom. I hope you can find your happiness. You have my blessing and my support for everything.” Tsunade reached for her shoulder and pulled the smaller woman in a cozy hug. Sakura wrapped her own arms around the woman and they stood like that for a few moments before slowly parting and cleaning the tears on their faces.

The hokage gave one small smile. “But don’t think I didn’t threat him with the slowest and worst death in case he ever hurt you.”

With a halfhearted laugh, Sakura gave a big smile. “I couldn’t expect anything less.”

At that moment, there was a hurried knock on the door and it quickly opened revealing a Kakashi with a panicked face. He bowed for the women before turning to Sakura. “Not to be rude or anything but can we hurry? There’s this nurse who says that I haven’t had a checkup in ages and wants to do it now. I don’t know how many more excuses I can give.”

Exchanging a look with her Shisou and muttering something about hopeless men under her breath, Sakura quickly changed out of her hospital gown. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and gave Tsunade one last hug before grabbing Kakashi’s hand and guiding him out of the room and into hall. The man didn’t stop his words about ‘crazy nurses’ and ‘horrible hospitals’.

Inside the room, Tsunade watched the couple until they disappeared. Chuckling to herself, she told a nurse to find Shisune. “Maybe she still has Jiraya’s contact and if she does, I could give him a call.”

Before finishing that thought, she heard a scream from an enraged Sakura about how Kakashi ‘should stop being such a child with a ridiculous fear of hospitals’ and how she ‘would make sure to not only schedule his check up for next week but also be the one to do it to make sure he didn’t bail’.

The nurses found it funny to see their hokage laughing by herself and mumbling words about ‘how good it was to be young and in love.’

* * *

The pair of ninjas made their way towards the pinkette’s house in a comfortable silence. Neither Sakura nor Kakashi had the urge to fill that silence with small talk so they walked side by side – Kakashi reading that orange book of his and Sakura looking ahead of them.

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the porch of Sakura’s house. The young woman turned around to face her ex sensei.

“Would you like to come in for a bit?” Suddenly, she became very shy and fidgety, not knowing how to react in the presence of the older male but not ready to lose his company yet. If he noticed her sudden shyness, Kakashi didn’t show it at all. Instead he gave her his familiar eye crinkle and uttered a ‘sure’.

So, they made their way up the front steps of the small house and Sakura fumbled a bit with her pockets to find her keys. Soon the lock was dealt with and the door was pushed open. The pink haired woman walked in the slight dark room and turned to invite Kakashi but stopped on the spot after eyeing the look he had on his face. On his _mask less_ face.

He had a look of lust and something else. His already dark eye seemed to grow even darker by the second and the way he was looking at her made her legs shake and a nice warmth let loose inside her. She wanted to be closer to him, to touch his face and body yet she couldn’t move a single muscle. If the situation was different, she would be wondering if it was a new type of genjutsu caused by the sharingan.

Slowly – too slowly for her liking – Kakashi began to move. He took one slow step on her direction and Sakura found herself backing away and directly into the wall behind her. In a blink on an eye, she was trapped there by two strong arms – one on each side of her head – effectively encaging her there. She took a moment to gather her wits and faced him again, raising her head a bit due to the height difference between them.

“Kakashi… what are you doing?” She managed to get her mouth to form the question but instead of receiving a reply, she saw the silver haired ninja’s face come closer to her own – they were barely 3 inches apart. She could feel that distinct smell of his and it was intoxicating her in a nice way. It was as if all her senses were filled by him and she wasn’t complaining at all.

Slowly – ever so slowly – she saw his mouth move. “Tell me to stop.” He whispered with a low and husky voice and it got Sakura shivering. She couldn’t and didn’t want him to stop. She wanted more and she wanted _now_. Feeling bold all of a sudden, she reached forward to grab his nape and yanked his head to meet her own. He seemed to get the hint and they were suddenly engaged in a marvelous kiss.

It wasn’t anything chaste but it had enough passion and love to get Sakura moaning. The way his tongue caressed her bottom lip, asking for entrance. The way he bit lightly that same lip. The way his warm tongue coaxed her own to slow dance. It was too much and at the same time not enough.

As if they had a mind of their own, her hands started exploring his body – starting with his chest. His _too clothed chest._ Now that wouldn’t do. Sakura wanted to feel his skin beneath her fingertips. Hell, she wanted to feel her skin touching his. So she started to work on his flak jacket – peeling it off his form. He seemed to understand her silent plea and got rid of the jacket and the t-shirt beneath leaving his chest totally bare for her eyes.

As a medic, Sakura had seen her share of naked man and as Kakashi’s doctor, she had seen the masked man without a shirt a handful of times but it was different this time. His chest was covered in scars – each one a tale about his missions and how strong he was as a shinobi and a man. Her fingers made their way on a few of the tattoos, tracing them slowly before a larger hand was encasing her own.

“I’m not a pretty sight like your former dates.”

“Don’t say that. The scars – they don’t bother me. They show how much power you have to have suffered them and still be alive. They tell part of your story and I love them just as I love anything and everything about you.”

Her speech seemed to calm whatever inner turmoil he was dealing with since he gave her a blinding smile that had his point fangs peeking out. He grabbed her hand and guided her to the bedroom where he effectively pushed her on the bed. Before she had the time to say anything, his body was covering her own and his mouth was attached to her neck. Losing all the thoughts to complain, she enjoyed the moment. His hands started to make a path downwards on her body and reached the hem of her shirt, tugging it upwards and off her.

She was left only in her bra and despite being quite shy and insecure about her body, Sakura didn’t feel the need to cover herself up. She felt Kakashi’s gaze roaming her half naked body and it turned her on even more. Kakashi’s mouth descended on her own again, giving a kiss that made her toes curl. She was becoming impatient.

Kakashi was having the same kind of thoughts and in no time, they clothes were discarded on the floor leaving the pair clad only in their underwear. Kakashi took a second to watch his lover’s body and couldn’t help a “beautiful” escaping his lips. Sakura turned as red as a ripe tomato but her embarrassment was soon forgotten as Kakashi took one nipple into his mouth and began to suck on it. The warmth of his mouth plus the movement of his tongue left Sakura a quivering mess. The torture carried on for a little longer before he released her breasts and started to make a slow way towards her panties, licking and kissing his way there. The closer his mouth was the wetter Sakura became. All of the shyness was forgotten and now she had the determination of a woman in a mission as she pushed her hips up – searching for any form of contact.

His mouth finally reached the waistband of her panties and by that time, Sakura was panting as if she had just run a marathon. Kakashi smirked at her and slowly dragged his tongue along the waistband. Sakura didn’t have control of her moans anymore and the only coherent thought inside her head was to find a way to make him touch her where she craved the most and soon.

Suddenly, all his touches disappeared. Sakura opened her eyes and looked down to see what the matter was but she wasn’t prepared for the sight that welcomed her. Kakashi had his face between her legs – inches away from her clothed sex. His eyes were the darkest that Sakura had ever seen and the bastard was smirking to top it all. Sakura opened her mouth to let him know a piece of her mind for stopping at such a crucial point but all that came out was a loud moan as his tongue caressed her slit through the cotton of her panties. He did the motion a few times, before attaching his mouth on her clit and sucking. Sakura couldn’t help – she needed more. She wanted something to placate the inferno uncoiling inside of her.

Kakashi saw the distress painted on her face and decided to take pity on her. He took off her panties in a fast move and made his way back towards her pussy lips. The first touch of his velvety warm tongue on her outer lips had Sakura thinking that she was going to die of pleasure. She didn’t know if she wanted to push him away or bringing him closer but the strong arms that locked around her waist to pin her on the spot made the decision for her. She grabbed a chunk of that silver hair to try and guide his head but Kakashi was having none of it. He alternated between slow and fast movements with his skilled tongue and to top the task, he gave powerful sucks on her clit. Sakura felt her orgasm closer and closer. The breaking point was when he inserted a finger inside her and curled it upwards.

Sakura felt the pinnacle of physical pleasure but it wasn’t only that. The pleasure was enhanced by the love shared between them. The pinkette started to shake uncontrollably and clutching to Kakashi’s should in an attempt to anchor herself. The exquisite sensation lasted for a while and when is subsided a bit, Sakura opened her eyes and looked at her lover.

She was sure that her face was giving too many emotions all at once but she couldn’t care less at that moment. The two strongest thoughts inside her head fighting for dominance were the great love she had for the ninja before her and the equally great will to bring him as much pleasure as she had just experienced.

With that intention, she got up and with a simple flick of her arm their positions were reversed and Kakashi was the one lying on the mattress while Sakura positioned herself on top of him. Feeling bold and powerful after seeing the caring and filled of love look he had on his mismatched eyes, the young doctor started her caress on his neck, lavishing it with her tongue and giving small bites now and then. If the groans he was failing to hide was anything to go by, she was doing something that he liked very much. She started to make her way down his body leaving kisses and licks and bites wherever her mouth touched. By the time she reached the waistband of his black boxers, the copy nin had look that was on the verge of desperation – his eyes glazed with pleasure and lust, his mouth slightly parted and small folds of skin forming on his forehead covered by a light sheet of sweat.

Deciding not to prolong his torture, she quickly discarded his underwear and watched amazed as his member sprang out of its cotton confines. Kakashi gave out a small sigh as the cold air touched the heated skin of his sex but it lasted only a little because soon the warmth of Sakura’s hands covered it. She stated to firmly stroke him and increased the pace slowly. Kakashi threw his head back in pleasure. Out of nowhere, he hissed as Sakura’s tongue licked the head of his cock but it was also short lived since the pinkette took it upon her to encase his whole cock inside her warm velvety mouth.

She started to bob her head up and down increasing her tempo – all the while keeping her eyes trained on his face to make sure she would miss a single face he was making. That _she_ was making him feel. It surely could be praise for her ego. But the woman didn’t dwell on that too long since two strong hands were pulling her head away from his already throbbing cock.

“We don’t want that to end that soon now, do we? I want to cum inside you.” The words coupled with the deep voice that said them made her wetter on the spot. She nodded while maintaining a beaming smile on her face.

Kakashi laid her on the bed again and quickly covered her body with his own. Positioning his member at her entrance, he gave her face on last look and as she gave him the go ahead, he slowly sank all the way inside her, feeling her warm canal stretching for him and massaging his cock as he filled her up completely. Both of they let out loud moans caused by the amazing feeling of being finally connected in the most intimate way. Without taking their eyes out of each other, they started to move – Kakashi thrusting inside her and Sakura moving to meet him halfway. In no time, they found a perfect rhythm to satisfy both sides.

“Kashi, I think I’m going to… AH! Faster, please!”

“Hold on baby. Just a bit longer. I want us to cum together.” He said before complying with her demands and driving into her faster and consequently deeper. His movements became erratic and his cock started twitching out of control. Their orgasms hit them both at the same time and at full force, making the couple close their eyes without permission and see stairs.

After the rush, they took a moment to collect their breaths and Kakashi rolled out of her, pulling her towards his chest. Sakura happily laid her head there and sighed.

Before Kakashi nodded off, he heard Sakura whisper something that made his chest expand with a warm sensation. “Kashi, I love you.”

He pulled her head to his lips and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Love you too Sakura. Always will.”

“Marry me then.”

Those words made the brave copy nin freeze. He couldn’t have heard it right. Wasn’t the man supposed to make the proposal? And so soon? It wasn’t as if he had anything to consider or regret, but he surely didn’t want Sakura to rush into things and regret them later. But it was just like her after all, to demand the things she wanted and to dive head first into things she considered important. Well, if she thought he was one of those things, he wouldn’t be the one to complain. So he managed to ask her.

“Are you sure?”

“Never have been surer in my life” Sakura gave him one small smile.

“Then I’m all yours.” With those words, the silver haired ninja captured her lips in a chaste and loving kiss. “But let’s sleep now. You have to regain your force for round two in a few hours.” He said while waggling his eyebrows up and down.

She playfully slapped his chest. “You are such a pervert.”

“You wouldn’t have me any other way.” She watched as a cocky eyebrow was raised to meet her stunned face. “And besides, consider it training for when we are married because we will be doing it _a lot_ , Mrs. Hatake.”

Giggling, she laid her head on his chest again. “I sure hope so, Mr. Hatake. I hope so.”


End file.
